It's the Process, Not the Product
Homemade clay beads and tissue-paper covered bottles that are just
waiting for a candle are just two of the vast arrays of artwork that you will find being made at the Come Create with Me Art and Recycle Studio in the Playseum.
Here, the goal is not for children to focus on creating beautiful works of art, although that does happen. Rather, children are encouraged to discover and experiment and create art within boundaries.
When children are given the freedom to experiment and express themselves with a limited variety of materials they actually learn far more than most people realize. Extensive studies have shown the connection between art and creativity in all disciplines. Art is accessible to people of all ages.
It is more than just a fun thing to do; it enables us to contemplate what we know, see, and want to communicate with others. Through art, children are empowered when given the opportunity to grapple with ideas and solve problems on their own. It is important to undo the antiquated idea that some people are born with talent and others are not. A child does not start out in life knowing how to read and write. Writing is an artistic expression and a learned skill as a developed process that requires exposure and practice. Art goes beyond being simply a learned skill or an expression but can actually communicate the depths of one's heart and soul.
At the same time, a child’s natural creative abilities are
often underestimated. In the art and recycle studio children are allowed to
choose supplies from our recycle and art bins, our tool bins and our outside-of-the box bins. Whether you have 10 minutes or you want to spend all day come in and take a peek and let your child's creative juices start flowing as they pull an orange juice cap, pipe-cleaner, googly eyes, dryable foam and a soap box to make a new kind of dog. You can take a moment to unwind and relax as you watch them or join in the fun and create something with them.
The art experience does not need all of the rules adults often attach to art. It’s the grown-ups who are at first uncomfortable in a setting that involves the creative process. One great way to encourage your child’s creative abilities and thus, your own, is to work side by side on separate projects. Emphasize the joy in making art and help them understand that improving creative skills is a lifelong process and that everyone has a different imagination so while one might see a dog with those items another might see a Martian or a jewelry box to be made; none are wrong just different.
Remember the process and you being there with your child is more important to them and needs to be more important to you than the outcome and the finished creation.
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